Vehicle driven by outboard motor



y 3, 1965 RONALD YUE ALIAS YU CHIA LU 3,194,335

VEHICLE DRIVEN BY OUTBOARD MOTOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 26, 1962INVENTOR RONALD YUE Attorney July 13, 1965 RONALD YUE ALIAS YU CHIA LUVEHICLE DRIVEN BY OUTBOARD MOTOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 26, 1962INVENTOR. RONALD YUE BY 4. 4 M

Attorney United States Patent 3,194,335 VEHICLE DRIVEN BY GUTBOARD MGTORRonald Yue, alias Yu Chia Lu, 3388 Eathurst St, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaFiled Dec. 26, 1962, Ser. No. 246,957 3 Claims. (Cl. 189-33) Thisinvention relates to motorized vehicles. It is particularly directed tomotorized land vehicles such as motor scooters, having a separable powersupply in the form of a marine outboard motor.

Conventional motorized land vehicles, such as for example motorscooters, have the prime mover integrally and permanently incorporatedwith the vehicle frame. Accordingly, the purchaser of a motor vehiclemust of necessity incur the expense of purchasing a motor which can beused only for the purpose of propelling said vehicle. In that the primemover often comprises a major portion of the total vehicle cost, aconsiderable monetary sum is invested in equipment of limited use.

On the other hand, outboard motors, used as prime movers for marinevehicles such as boats, are of limited use in that said motors can beused only for the propulsion of the boat in a liquid medium. Thus theproprietor of an outboard motor has a considerable investment in a primemover which can be used for marine travel only.

I have found that marine outboard motors can be adapted to be used incombination with land vehicles to provide an efficient prime mover forland travel. The motors can be quickly and readily modified for eitherland or marine travel thus limiting the purchasers investment to oneprime mover in place of two; thereby providing important monetarysavings while allowing flexibilityof use.

Although the following detailed description is made with reference tomotor scooters, it will be understood that the description of thisembodiment is by way of illustration only and the present invention canbe used with land vehicles of the four wheel type in addition tovehicles of the two wheel type.

It is therefore, a principal object of the present invention to providea vehicle frame and control assembly which is constructed and arrangedfor receiving a conventional outboard motor for use as a prime mover.

Another important object of the present invention is the provision of ascooter assembly and outboard motor combination which is positiveacting, reliable and substantially trouble-free in operation, and whichcan be quickly and readily assembled as an integrated unit, for landtravel or disassembled into component parts.

A further important object of the present invention is the provision ofa scooter frame assembly which is adapted to support and house a marineoutboard motor for ease of transportation and storage of said motor.

An understanding of the manner in which these and other objects of thepresent invention can be attained can be had from the followingdescription, reference being made to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an exploded perspective view of a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention, showing the relationship of the component partsfor combination as an integrated unit;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view, partly cut away, of the gear shift andbrake mechanism coupling system;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the gear shiftconnector mechanism;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view illustrating the motor throttle adapterassembly;

FIGURE 5 isa perspective view, partly cut away, of the throttleconnector device located in the steering handle;

FIGURE 6 is a side elevation, partly in section, il-' 3,194,335 PatentedJuly 13, 1965 lustrating the connecting mechanism for coupling thepropeller shaft to the scooter drive mechanism; and

FIGURE 7 is a plan view, partly in section taken along line 7-7 ofFIGURE 6.

Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the descriptionof the drawing.

A preferred embodiment of my invention, as illustrated by the motorscooter and outboard motor combination according to the drawing,comprises a motor scooter frame generally designated by the numeral 10having front and rear wheels 11 and 12 rotatably mounted thereon. Frame10 comprises a pair of tubular members 13 and 14 rigidly secured to thelower portion of skirt member 15 at the front and joined by web 16 atthe rear. The steering sleeve 17 rigidly connected to the skirt 15 isadapted to house a steering fork 18 which rigidly supports handle-bars19 at its upper extremity and pivotally supports front wheel 11 at itslower extremity.

A pair of rearwardly inclined tubular members 20 and 21 rigidlyconnected at their lower extremities by welding or the like means tomembers 13 and 14 respectively, are connected to each other at theirupper extremities by a U-shaped member 22 which is adapted to supportseat 23. Member 22 is pivotally connected to the upper extremity of arm20 and adapted to be latched to the upper extremity of arm 21, thuspermitting a quick and facile engagement and disengagement of saidU-shaped member from said arms, for reasons which will be ex plainedhereinbelow. A pair of forwardly inclined shock absorbers 24 and 25 arepivotally connected at their upper ends to the upper extremities of arms20 and 21 by sleeves 24a and 25a and pivotally connected at their lowerextremities to rear wheel axle 26 which is rotatably secured to leafsprings 13a.

A marine outboard motor 30 is disposed horizontally over rear wheel 12such that the head 31 of said outboard is resting in well 32 formedbetween the floorboards 33 and 34 with control face 31a facing upwardly.A clamp 35 pivotally mounted on the upper extremity of arm 20 is adaptedto overlie the leg assembly 36 of the outboard and be rigidly butremovably secured to the upper extremity of arm 21 such that said legassembly can be rigidly secured onto cross-piece 3'7 disposedimmediately below clamp 35.

It Will be understood, of course, that the water-cooled marine outboardmotor described herein is by way of illustration only; the expressionoutboard motor being intended to include the class of liquid-cooled andaircooled outboard motors.

To adapt the positive forward and neutral positions of the outboard gearshift to the stop and start conditions encountered in land travel and tooperatively connect said gear shift and motor throttle to the scootercontrols, I have devised novel gear shift and throttle devices as mostclearly, illustrated by FIGURES 2 and 3. In that the placement ofoutboard motor controls vary according to the size, model andmanufacturer of the motor, it will also be understood that the structureof the controls described herein is by way of illustration only and issubject to modification. In the present embodiment, the gear shift andthrottle are combined on arm 41 whereas many outboard motors haveindependent and separate gear shift and throttle controls. Modificationsnecessary to conform to design variations will become apparent in viewof the following description.

The motor gear shift lever arm 41 is coupled to the scooter controls bya hinged clamp 38 having a pair of arms 38a and 38b connected at one endby hinge 39 and at the opposite end by overlapping lugs 40 and 40a whichare adapted to receive a connecting pin therein. A pair of apertures 27and 27a formed in arms 38a and 38b respectively are adapted to receiveaxially aligned pins 28'and 28a which are secured to said motor gearshift lever arm 41 by means of collar 29 rigidly secured there-' on.Pins '28 'and- 280 thus provide a pivot point for Pivotally mountedclamp 38 is connected to the brake-Z I actuated gearshift releasemechanism 42 by means of a 7 connecting rod 43'. Release mechanismAZcomprises a pair of levers ,44 and 45 pivotally mounted within casing46' by means of a pin-47 extending therethi'ouglLa The upper portions oflevers 44 and 45 are pivotally Se-- cured to one end of rod 43 by meansof pin 48 carried by collar 49 which is rigidly secured to said rod. Apair of compression springs 50 secured to the lower ends .of levers44iand 45 are connected to thebase of housing 46 as illustrated to biaslevers=44and 45. in one of the:

two positions illustrated by the solidand broken lines respectively. a a

In the drawings, the solid lines illustrate the gear levers 44 and 45which are connected to lever 41 in one of the above two designatedpositions because of the oif-centre cam shape of said levers and thedisposition of v 7 said springs; Rearward portion 43a of rod 43 has" aslot 51 formed thereinto allow axial movement of shank 43b and pin 51awithin socket'portion 43c of rod 43a, 7

, aswill be described hereinbelow.

A lever 52 'pivotally mounted within opening- 5 3 of '30 housing 46' bymeans of vertical pin 54 carried by lugs 55 is keyed at its inner end tole ver and pivotally con-t neeted at its outer end to one end of cable57. Cable 57 is; connected at its opposite end to ,extension'58 of brakepedal59 which is pivotally mounted at 66 onto arm .61 which is rigidlysecured to member 33. 7

Referring now to FIGURES '4' and 5, the throttle t adapter assemblycomprises an arcuate race 62 which is rigidly secured to arm 41'by meansof clamp 66 and clamp arm extension 66a. A ball 67 adapted to slide inrace: 62 is: connected to arm 68 which is rigidly secured" to clamp 68awhich is, in turn, fastened to handle6ibj for rotatable traveltherewith. A-shielded cable 69 'is secured at one end to arm extension68 and secured at its opposite end; to member 70 which is slidablymounted for reciprocal movement Within the central housing ,por-

. tion 71 0f handle-bar 19. Cable 69 is adapted to translate; the linearreciprocal movement of member- 7 to the rotationalmovement of motorthrottle handle 68b. A lateralextension 70a of member '70 is adapted tobe engaged by threaded member. 72, which is 'rotatably 'supportedibyarms 73 and 74 of bracket 75,1 such that rotation of member 72longitudinally 'reciprocatest member 70; Rotational movement of member72, and rotation of throttle 68b, is thus controlled by the rotation ofhand grip '76 which is connected to member 72 by rigid cable 77. t V

Referring tovFIGURES 1, 6 and 7, the foot assembly 80 ofthe outboardmotor 30 is positioned over gearbox 81 of the scooter drive mechanism;Propeller shaft 82' is adapted to be splined into pinion spindle 83whichextends through and isjournalledinto the upper portion of casing 84 ofgear box 81' by means of bearing 85.

The lower end 87 of pinion83 istjournalled into a cycasing 84 such thatpinion 8-3 is free to rotate therein."

A pinion-gear 88-carried by spindle 33 is adapted to engage gear 89which .is splined onto horizontal shaft box81 by means of bushings-94and 94a. 7 Apinion gear 95 formed in the exterior extension ;of shaft 90is adapted 90-which is journalledvinto sidewalls 92 and93 of gear toengage gear wheel 96 which is rotatably carried by a shaft 96zz which isdisposed below shaftand mounted on members 13 and 14-. A sprocket, wheel97, mounted co-planar with sprocket 'wheel mounted on rear wheel axle26.5

drive shaft 82 to wheel 12.: j a V i t A pulley 99,secured to theopposite end of shaft w v carries a .V-be'ltn100 which p'asses-overidler; pulleys 101' for a change of direction such that it engages fpulley ltlgt 1 I r a which is carried by shaft 104 which is journalledinto i of casing 84 -f0ri rotational rno'vement' rear 'wall' 103'therein.

A fan propeller 108, secured to the free endof shaft, i i V 104, is'disposedinproximity. to radiator" 109' which is rigidly secured to web.1 6 :of the, frame chassis, fI-Iose' t 111 communicates theupper:portion of radiator 10210 1 the coolantin1et'112 of themotor;l'- Asecondhosealfi communicates the coolant outlet:114 tO 'thB lOWGl'portion a of radiator 10s.

A fuelitank 115-mounted connecting-tube l'ld'a'sis wellknow n in theart;

A muffler. 1120 connected to the undersidegof web 16 t by meansof-straps'121is connected to the" exhaust o'ut let of the motor byflexible tubing 122;: i

To-couplethe voutboard"motor withthe.scooter frame; V

.the motor Silisdispose-d horizontally on the' frame ltl'as illustratedby the .drawings such that-the controlfface of l l V the. outboard motoris facing upwardly "andpropellershafflf S2 is seated inEthe socket 83aof. pinion spindlei33 which isadapted to'projectfrom the gearbox 81.1Bracket 35 overlying leg 36' of the motor is locked in position and seatthe Tconven-tionalv starter cord or actuating the, electric s'ta'rtingmotor, if availableg while gear shift lever 41 1i:

in its forward'neutral'position illustrated by the-broken lines.Once'the motor ismp eratirrg properly, "-leyerf4l' is:

pivoted to its vertical, position, as indicated" by the solid linesengaging the qniotor withthe scooter drive system' for forward movementof the scooteng Hand-grip {76 i is rotated tovary the throttlepositionfor controlling the i fuel supply tothe engine: and the scooter?speed. To stop" the machine brakepedalSQ isl'depress'ed,gpivoting it" inaf a clockwise direction: about pivot-point 6tlg as shown in FIGURE 2,toadvance cable 57 andbrake cablei1-25.1 Asi a cable STis advancedytheprotrudingportion of; lever 52." V is advanced causingtthelower;extremity of levers Mand Y Y 45 to move in a rearward direction toadvance rod'43jand I lever arm 41., Once lever arm'i43-isfjadvanced totitsfor-z Ward position, tension spring 50 holdslevers44; and 45 i inposition until the: scootervope'rator returns'1ever;arm-

41 to its vertical drive position, 1 a

oted to it sneutralf forwardposit-ion with shank"43b bein'gareceived,withinsocket 43 1c'tsuchj that rod 43i =is notdis'placedaxially.

The present invention possesses ;a number. ermeer- 7 taintadvantages.'Ihepproprietonbf an' outboard' .r'notor can purchase a'land vehicleframe suchas ascooter frame adaptedtoreceive the motor; at a costsubstantia1ly below j that otherwise incurred in purchasing ascootertequipped l r i with a motor. The outboard motor, can be readilyin-Q stalled in the frame to functionflaszaprime mover remand; travel orremoved from the frame andjthe-propellerinserted and locked inpo'si'ti-on oiijthe propeller shaft'for'useiif 88: 3. conventional'ma'rine outboardlmotor, 1

I "ltiiwill be understood, of course,tthatflmoditications can be made in"the -preferred embodimentiof the inven tion described arid illustratedherein withoutl'departing 7 97a which i, is rotatably The two sprocketwheels are operatively connected xb y meansg of sprocket chain 98'forcompletingthevtransmission of power from" betweenIfioor boardst 33 and,34 is adapted to supply gastomotorfit). byimeans fofa from the scope ofthe invention defined by the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

1. A motor scooter vehicle comprising, in combination, a scooter framehaving a pair of wheels rot-atably mounted thereon in substantiallyco-planar alignment and means connected to one of said wheels forsteering said scooter for guided land travel, a prime mover of themarine outboard motor type having throttle and gear shift controls,means for removably securing said prime mover substantially in ahorizontal position to said frame, power transmitting means secured tosaid frame for connecting said prime mover to one of said scooterwheels, and means for connecting the outboard motor throttle and gearshift controls to controls carried by the scooter frame.

2. A motor scooter vehicle which comprises a frame, a pair of wheelsrotatably mounted on said frame, manually operable steering meansconnected to one of the wheels for steering the scooter, powertransmission means consisting of a gear box assembly secured to theframe and operatively connected to the other wheel for driving saidwheel, an outboard motor mounted substantially horizontally on saidframe, means for removably securing the outboard motor to the frame suchthat said outboard motor positively engages the transmission means, andcontrol means carried by said frame adapted to be connected to theoutboard motor for controlling the operation of said outboard motor.

3. A motor scooter vehicle which comprises a frame,

a pair of Wheels rotatably mounted one behind the other on said frame,manually operable means connected to the front wheel for steering thescooter, a prime mover of the marine outboard motor class having a gearshift, throttle and a propeller shaft, power transmission meanscomprising a gear box assembly rigidly secured to said frame and adaptedto receive the propeller shaft and operatively connect said shaft to therear Wheel, connecting means for removably securing the prime mover in ahorizontal pOSition to the frame, manually operable control meanscarried by said frame adapted to be connected to the motor gear shiftand throttle controls, and closed circuit coolant circulating meanscarried by said frame connectab-le to said prime mover for cooling saidprime mover.

References Cited by the Examiner UNIT ED STATES PATENT S 1,952,091 3/34Nicholson ISO- 2,518,093 8/50 Sutter 56-25.4 2,589,793 3/52 Franks 180-33 X 2,827,714 3/58 Hyde. 2,891,370 6/59 Musgrave ISO-25 X 2,965,18612/60 Burns 180-27 X FOREIGN PATENTS 412,839 7/ Italy. 187,427 12/55Austria.

30 A. HARRY LEVY, Primary Examiner.

1. A MOTOR SCOOTER VEHICLE COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, A SCOOTER FRAMEHAVING A PAIR OF WHEELS ROTATABLY MOUNTED THEREON IN SUBSTANTIALLYCO-PLANAR ALIGNMENT AND MEANS CONNECTED TO ONE OF SAID WHEELS FORSTEERING SAID SCOOTER FOR GUIDED LAND TRAVEL, A PRIME MOVER OF THEMARINE OUTBOARD MOTOR TYPE HAVING THROTTLE AND GEAR SHIFT CONTROLS,MEANS FOR REMOVABLY SECURING SAID PRIME MOVER SUBSTANTIALLY IN AHORIZONTAL POSITION TO SAID FRAME, POWER TRANSMITTING MEANS SECURED TOSAID FRAME FOR CONNECTING SAID PRIME MOVER TO ONE OF SAID SCOOTERWHEELS, AND MEANS FOR CONNECTING THE OUTBOARD MOTOR THROTTLE AND GEARSHIFT CONTROLS TO CONTROLS CARRIED BY THE SCOOTER FRAME.